01-17-2021 – God Testifies About His Son
01-17-2021
"God’s People are Overcomers"
1John 5:6-21
Through Christ, God encourages, equips and exhorts us to devote ourselves to knowing, applying, and proclaiming God’s Word through every aspect of our lives, giving evidence that we are in Christ.
Read 1John 5:6-8
"6 This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement."
We overcome sin, death, and judgement in Christ, no wonder God gives clear testimony that Jesus is indeed both Lord and Savior. John says Jesus Christ has come by water and by blood; in fact, that there are three who testify (the Spirit and the water and the blood), and they are all in agreement:
At Jesus’ baptism both the Father and the Spirit testify (Matthew 3:16-17).
Matthew 3:16-17
"16 After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and settling on Him, 17 and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”"
At Jesus’ death (Matthew 27:50-51, 54).
Matthew 27:50-51
"50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split."
Matthew 27:54
"54 Now as for the centurion and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the other things that were happening, they became extremely frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”"
Romans 1:1-3
“Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son… …who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Hebrews 9:11-12
"11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things having come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made by hands, that is, not of this creation; 12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all time, having obtained eternal redemption."
Hebrews 9:22
"22 And almost all things are cleansed with blood, according to the Law, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."
Hebrews 9:27-28
"27 And just as it is destined for people to die once, and after this comes judgment, 28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him."
Hebrews 10:4-18
"4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says,
“You have not desired sacrifice and offering, But You have prepared a body for Me;
6 You have not taken pleasure in whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (It is written of Me in the scroll of the book) To do Your will, O God.’”
8 After saying above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law), 9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. 10 By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.
11 Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time onward until His enemies are made a footstool for His feet. 14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,
16 “This is the covenant which I will make with them After those days, declares the Lord: I will put My laws upon their hearts, And write them on their mind,”
He then says,
17 “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will no longer remember.”
18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, an offering for sin is no longer required."
[Jeremiah 31:33]
‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, and on their mind I will write them,’ He then says, ‘And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’ Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
God has clearly given testimony, as to the deity of His Son. He has done this through the writings of the prophets, through His birth, through His baptism, through His death, and through His resurrection.
In the OT, the law required that there be two or three witnesses in order to establish truth about any particular matter:
Deuteronomy 17:6
“On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.”
Deuteronomy 19:15
“A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.”
This principle of 2-3 witnesses is also clearly established in the NT:
Matthew 18:15-16
"15 “Now if your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that on the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be confirmed."
John 8:17-18
“Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true. I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me."
1Timothy 5:19
“Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses.”
Read 1John 5:9
"9 If we receive the testimony of people, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son."
If we accept the testimony of 2-3 men (in agreement); how much more then ought we to believe God's testimony about His Son, written in His Word, confirmed by His Spirit, and written upon the heart of each and every true believer who then lives as a testimony to God’s plan, purpose and provision of eternal life through Christ.
Read 1John 5:10
"10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son."
When anyone genuinely believes God's testimony about Jesus Christ, God confirms in that person's heart that he/she has been saved, for God's Spirit takes up eternal residence in our heart (cf. Romans 10:9-10; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13).
Romans 10:9-10
"9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
Galatians 4:6
"6 Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba! Father!”"
Ephesians 1:13
"13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise,"
God’s Spirit confirms that this testimony about the birth, baptism, death, and resurrection of God’s Son, sovereignly declares His divinity!
Those who do not believe that Jesus was God in the flesh, are calling God a liar and rejecting His Son, and to reject the deity of Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior, is to bring eternal judgment upon oneself (cf. John 8:24; John 16:8-9).
John 8:24
"24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.”"
John 16:8-9
"8 And He, when He comes, will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment: 9 regarding sin, because they do not believe in Me;"
John 10:24-30
"24 The Jews then surrounded Him and began saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. 27 My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”"
Read 1John 5:11-13
"11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life."
Everyone who has genuinely repented of their sins, and trusted in Jesus Christ to save them, will have the sovereign testimony of God in their heart that they indeed belong to Him, for they have received eternal life.
God wants you to be secure in your knowledge that you belong to Him. If you have any doubt as to whether or not you have received forgiveness and eternal life, please, ask God right now to forgive your sins, and settle this issue once and for all, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Read 1John 5:14-15
"14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him."
As God’s children, we have the right and the privilege to enter the throne room of God in prayer, at any time.
See Hebrews 4:14-16
"14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need."
But, we must ask according to God’s will.
John 14:13-14
“Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”
God’s people have God’s Word and God’s Spirit, and we can know God’s will; and so, as we come to God in prayer, we ask in accordance with God’s will.
Matthew 6:9-10
"9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven."
Romans 12:2
"2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."
Read 1John 5:16-17
"16 If anyone sees his brother or sister committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will, for him, give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death; I am not saying that he should ask about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death."
It would seem that there is sin which can lead to a believer’s death. Sometimes Christians become so insensitive to sin that they do not repent; but instead, they may continue in sin and become unwilling to repent, this could bring about God’s judgment, leading to physical death, so as to remove the rebellious believer from being such a bad witness for God (see Acts 5:1-11; 1Corinthians 11:27-32).
Acts 5:1-11
"But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and kept back some of the proceeds for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.” 5 And as he heard these words, Ananias collapsed and died; and great fear came over all who heard about it. 6 The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.
7 Now an interval of about three hours elapsed, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for this price?” And she said, “Yes, for that price.” 9 Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.” 10 And immediately she collapsed at his feet and died; and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard about these things."
1Corinthians 11:27-32
"27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 But a person must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For the one who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not properly recognize the body. 30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number are asleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world."
God may very well bring to an early end, the life of one of His children who continues in sin, unwilling to repent of it.
Read 1John 5:18-20
"18 We know that no one who has been born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life."
Humility and obedience are to be practiced by God’s children, for we have been given God’s Spirit and God’s Word. As you serve and obey God on earth, the devil can’t touch you; Satan is powerful, but he is still God’s devil and he can do only that which God allows him.
We have nothing to fear from the devil, as we studied last week, we have overcome the world, the devil, and the curse of sin, through Christ. As you submit to God’s will in your life, you have nothing to fear; but when you turn your back on God, living as an unbeliever, you set yourself against God, and He will discipline you because He cares for you; He may also, if you do not repent, bring your life to a premature end.
We belong to God and therefore our life must be consistent with that which pleases God. We are not to live as those who reject God’s Son, for they serve the devil who is the god of this present world system; Christians, however, belong to and serve the God of the universe, the Creator and Judge over All.
If we genuinely belong to God through Christ, we know the truth that Jesus is the Son of God and that He has come in the flesh to provide forgiveness for our sins and eternal life; this should be reflected in and through our life by obedient service to God, as we express our love for one another.
Read 1John 5:21
"21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols."
In closing this letter, John commands us to stay away from idols. Idols are representative of any and all philosophies and practices, attitudes and behaviors, that do not please God. We, God’s people, are to imitate our Father in heaven, and as has been sovereignly demonstrated by God’s Son on earth.
Ephesians 5:1-2
"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."
God and God alone is to be worshipped: God’s Word revealed is our divine and sovereign instruction; God’s Son is our example, being the fullness of God in human flesh; and God’s Spirit is our indwelling Helper, Counselor, Teacher.
And why has God lavished on us His great riches with all wisdom and power? So that we should live victoriously as overcomers in this world, with our confidence placed fully upon Jesus Christ; for it is He and He alone, who has overcome sin, death and judgment forever!
Therefore, let each of us who genuinely belong to God through Christ, commit to serve Him, through every aspect of our life, with full confidence that we might accomplish every good work that God has prepared for us to do, in Christ.
Ephesians 2:8-10
"8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."
And all God’s people said?
Amen!
Pastor Mike
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